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Alternative Press Collection is Among the Best
A recent article in College and Research Libraries examining alternative press collections in the 121 member libraries of the Association of Research Libraries ranks those held by the New York Public Library and by the UConn Libraries as most comprehensive. The C&RL survey compared library holdings against the standard reference guide to alternative materials, The Alternative Press Index. Of the 220 titles surveyed, the New York Public Library holds 72%; the University of Connecticut holds 71%. Only twelve libraries held more than 50% of the titles.The library's Alternative Press Collection, housed in Archives & Special Collections in the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, began during the radical ferment of the 1960s. Its broad scope and depth reflect the efforts of many librarians and faculty members who have developed the collection over several decades. Documenting the anti-war, counterculture, black liberation, student, women's, environmental, gay rights and anti-nuclear movements, it is one of the largest holdings of material on American political left, right, and alternative movements in the United States. The Alternative Press Collection is one of the most heavily used collection in the Dodd Center, consulted by both students and faculty and loaned through inter-library to researchers across the nation. The C&RL survey serves to confirm the national importance of this collection and its significance for the study of American society in the second half of the twentieth century.
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